This invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and method. The invention is especially adapted for removing debris that has become embedded in a substrate. More particularly, the invention concerns the removal of lint-type residue from the cutting bed of an automated fabric cutting machine.
In one type of automated cutting machine for cutting limp fabrics, multiple layers of the fabric are supported on a cutting surface or bed. The cutting bed is made of tightly-packed, polymeric bristles through which a cutting knife can be directed without damaging the bristles, which flex when contacted by the knife. In order to hold the layers of limp fabric to the cutting bed, a vacuum is drawn through a plurality of micro openings in the base of the bed and the fabric is covered with a thin film of plastic to draw the material against the bristles. As a numerically-controlled knife cuts the multiple layers of fabric, a residue of lint-like debris is pulled by the vacuum deep into the nap of the bristles. A buildup of such debris closes the micro openings in the bristle blocks thus restricting the effectiveness of the vacuum hold-down method. Accordingly, such debris must be periodically removed from the cutting bed.
Such a cutting bed is typically divided into a plurality of elongated slats which are mounted to a chain in order to form a conveyor. Each slat is made from a plurality of square bristle blocks mounted to a U-shaped channel which forms a plenum for applying vacuum to the back of each bristle block. In order to dislodge the debris from the bristle blocks, it is necessary to disassemble the slats from the conveyor and to remove the individual bristle blocks from the backing channel. The bristle blocks are then inverted and manually tapped against a solid surface in order to dislodge the debris. The bristle blocks may optionally be soaked in water in order to provide weight to the debris and to minimize airborne particles from the cleaning operation. The need, therefore, exists for a more efficient and less labor-intensive method of removing lint-like debris from the cutting bed of automated fabric cutting machines.